IS ROWLAND AS OBLIVIOUS AS HE'D HAVE US BELIEVE?

Gov. John G. Rowland says he knew nothing about the shenanigans at the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority or about the questionable dealings of lobbyist Linda Kowalski.

Kenneth Lay said similar things about wrongdoing at Enron.

The stream of denials by leaders who hear no evil and see no evil damages their credibility and taxes our patience.

Shame on Rowland if he didn't know what was going on at CRRA and in his Capitol office. He should have. The buck stops at his desk. And shame on Rowland if he did know what was going on and did nothing to stop it.

That is, until 10 days ago when the governor suddenly -- and inexplicably -- fired Sidney J. Holbrook, who had already been demoted from co-chief of staff and exiled to a satellite office in Norwich. Holbrook, the governor's longtime pal and former environmental protection commissioner, was washed away by the CRRA-Enron tidal wave.

When pressed as to why he fired Holbrook, Rowland was evasive, saying, "It's been a combination of issues that have been compiling over the last six or seven months." The governor denied having knowledge of Holbrook steering clients to Kowalski's lobbying firm. "I hope [the rumors] aren't true, but if they are, that's a problem," he said.

If the governor wasn't aware of what has euphemistically been called the "close friendship" between Holbrook and Kowalski, he's the only one at the Statehouse who wasn't. Ditto for Holbrook's and Kowalski's business relationship. For at least two years, Holbrook has been using his perch in the governor's office to pry groups, including the CRRA, away from other lobbyists and hook them up with Kowalski.

Unfortunately, the lobbyists who have been victimized haven't squawked publicly lest Holbrook, who acted as the governor's gatekeeper, keep them at bay and destroy their effectiveness. But a half-dozen prominent lobbyists confirmed for me that Holbrook had wrested clients from them or from colleagues and steered the clients to Kowalski.

Presumably, the State Ethics Commission (which is barred from revealing the specifics of its investigations) is looking into the Holbrook-to-Kowalski conduit.

If it can be proved that Holbrook was plumping up Kowalski's client roster, it would violate the ethics provision that says: "No public official or state employee, or any person acting on behalf of a public official or state employee, shall wilfully and knowingly interfere with, influence, direct or solicit existing or new lobbying contracts, agreements or business relationships for or on behalf of any person." Each count is punishable by one year in prison, a $2,000 fine or both. What's more, if Holbrook threatened to deny clients access to the governor's office or threatened them in any other way, he'd be guilty of a felony and the penalties would be more severe.

Remember, Holbrook was conducting this side business under Rowland's nose. How could the governor not have known unless he's become so disinterested in the mechanics of government that he's turned a blind eye to the stunts of his aides and advisers -- and to lobbyists, such as Kowalski, who wined and dined his staff on someone else's dime.

It's not like Kowalski couldn't afford to pay for the entertaining. Two years before Holbrook's appointment as Rowland's co-chief of staff, Kowalski's annual billings totaled $308,400. By 2001, her client billings had hit $869,400, according to ethics reports.

In response to the unfolding CRRA scandal -- which Rowland at first pooh-poohed -- he has axed both his chiefs of staff, severed Kowalski's fund-raising ties with the Republican Governors Association, announced he will no longer accept meals from lobbyists and endorsed calls for a grand jury investigation into possible corruption and misuse of public funds by CRRA, its executives and lobbyists.

Maybe Rowland has started to hear the footsteps of Democratic gubernatorial contenders Bill Curry and George Jepsen, who have dented the governor's once-impenetrable armor. The latest poll by the University of Connecticut has Rowland ahead of Curry by 25 percentage points and Jepsen by 33. Those aren't insurmountable leads with six months to go and the public phase of the campaign yet to begin.

The CRRA flap isn't going away. The footsteps will only get louder.

Michele Jacklin is The Courant's political columnist. Her column appears every Wednesday and Sunday. To leave her a comment, please call 860-241-3163.